368 



UbKography. 



tuca pratensis, L.) — 5. Blue grass, (Poa compressa, L.) — 6. Ray 

 £Trass, [Lolium perenne^ 1j.) — 7. Herd's grass of Pennsylvania, often 

 called ' red top,' the ' bent grass' of the English, [Agrostis vulgaris^ 

 L.) and 8. Sweet scented vernal grass, (Anthoxanthu?n odoratum, L.) 

 There are a few other grasses — native or partially naturalized — to be 

 found on our farms, and which are more or less eaten by cattle when 

 the better ones are wanting. But they are comparatively of little value, 

 and good farmers are always desirous to supersede them by some of 

 those above named. It is remarkable that all the grasses here enu- 

 merated are believed to have been introduced into our country. Those 

 generally cultivated here, are the Timothy and orchard grass ; and oc- 

 casionally we see the ray, and herd's grass, or red top ; though these 

 last are not so much esteemed. Now and then we hear of attempts to 

 introduce new grasses to the notice of our agriculturists — accompa- 

 nied by exaggerated statements of their value — such as the taller oat- 

 grass, [Avena elatior, L.) sometimes called ' grass of the Andes :' and 

 a few years since one of our coarse indigenous grasses, called ' sesame' 

 or ' gama grass' (Tripsacicm dactyloides, L.) was so extravagantly 

 lauded in the journals, that many lovers of novelties were induced to 

 try the experiment of cultivating it, in place of the old approved plants ; 

 but, like some other experiments that we wot of in our day, it resulted 

 in a total failure. It is indeed exceedingly doubtful whether any other 

 grasses are so well adapted to our climate, and our wants, as those old 

 and long-tried acquaintances of our farmers which I have already enu- 

 merated." — " But it is from the seeds of the grass tribe, with one-ex- 

 ^ception, that Ave derive the most eminent and immediate advantages. 

 To them we are indebted for what has been emphatically called the 

 staff of life. The chief bulk of these seeds being made up of farina- 

 ceous matter, which is always innocent and nutritious, they are conse- 

 quently well adapted to the sustenance of man. They not only sup- 

 ply us with bread, but with all the countless variety of dishes which 

 ingenuity has prepared, both from the flour and the unground grain ; and 

 if but few species are commonly employed for that purpose, it is be- 

 cause the large size of their seeds, compared with those of other 

 grasses, renders them more eligible as objects of culture. There is 

 but a solitary instance alledged of the unwholesomeness of the seeds 

 in the entire family of the grasses, viz. those of the darnel, (Lolium tern- 

 ulentum, L.) — a common weed in many parts of Europe, but scarcely 

 known in the United States ; and even in this case, the deleterious 

 effects are probably much exaggerated. It is only when the seeds are 

 damaged or diseased, that they become injurious to health ; as when 

 putrefaction has commenced, or when that peculiar disease and en- 

 largement of the grain occurs, which is known by the name of ergot. 



